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Key Points
  • Nine journalist Lauren Tomasi was hit by a rubber bullet fired by a police officer during LA protests on Monday.
  • In a social media update, Tomasi mentioned she was “a bit sore but okay.”
  • Protests are scheduled to continue for a fourth day.
An Australian journalist who was hit by a rubber bullet while covering LA protests has expressed gratitude for the supportive messages and provided an update on her condition.
United States authorities, including the Los Angeles Police Department, have been clashing with demonstrators in response to a series of arrests by immigration agents in LA, leading to the deployment of the US national guard.
On Monday, Channel Nine’s US correspondent Lauren Tomasi was covering the protests when a police officer reportedly aimed his weapon at her and fired a projectile.

In a post on social media platform X on Tuesday morning, Tomasi stated: “I’m a bit sore but I’m okay.”

Tomasi described the incident while appearing on Nine’s Today program on Tuesday morning.
“Police started pushing their way up the street. They’d begun firing teargas canisters and those rubber bullets, and we moved on to the sidewalk, really tried to stay out of the way,” she said.
“I was really focused on the camera and finishing that report, telling what was happening. And I got hit. [Cameraman] Jimmy scooped me up and we made our way out of there as quickly as possible.”
Tomasi had earlier told Melbourne’s 3AW radio she had been left with a “nasty bruise” by the projectile, which she said was about the size of a golf ball.
Nine later released a statement saying: “Lauren and her camera operator are safe and will continue their essential work covering these events.”

“This incident highlights the significant risks journalists encounter while reporting from the frontlines of protests, emphasizing their crucial role in delivering essential information,” the company commented.

Greens senator says issue should be ‘raised at the highest levels’
There has been increasing pressure for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to bring up the incident with US President Donald Trump, who Albanese is expected to meet with when he travels to the G7 summit in Canada next week.
Appearing on Nine’s Today program on Tuesday morning, Greens senator Nick McKim said he believed concern over the incident should be “raised at the highest levels”.
“The fact that you’ve got someone in uniform who appears to take a deliberate pot shot at a journalist, that is completely unacceptable and it needs to be raised at the highest levels, whether that’s PM, to the president, or the foreign affairs minister level,” he said.

“The United States needs to understand that that is just not okay.”

A man in a suit is speaking in front of bushes.

Greens senator Nick McKim said the incident must be raised at the “highest levels”. Source: AAP / Ethan James

McKim’s fellow Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young made similar calls on Monday, saying the “first thing” Albanese should tell Trump is to “stop shooting at our journalists”.

Employment Minister Amanda Rishworth told Nine earlier she wasn’t aware if Albanese would raise the incident with Trump.
“Firstly, I would say my thoughts are, of course, with Lauren. I understand she’s okay and she wasn’t seriously injured, but Australia absolutely believes in the freedom of journalists to do their job and to do their job safely, and that journalists should be protected,” she said.

“This is evidently a challenging situation. I understand the Australian consul-general has contacted Lauren, but the principle of press freedom is held in high regard by Australians.”

Protests continue in Los Angeles

Los Angeles is facing its fourth day of protests over the immigration raids. The US military has said it would temporarily deploy around 700 marines to Los Angeles until more national guard troops can arrive.
California governor Gavin Newsom has vowed to sue the Trump administration over the deployment of the national guard in response to the protests. Newson said Trump’s actions were an “unmistakable step toward authoritarianism”.
— With additional reporting by Reuters
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